This invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for anchoring a thread to a winder in order to wind the thread supplied from a supply source about an empty bobbin which has replaced a full bobbin in the winder. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus in which the thread from the supply source can be automatically wound about the empty bobbin, with a doffer device for doffing a full bobbin and replacing it with an empty bobbin being disposed in front of the winder, the thread being positively caught and anchored on the empty bobbin during the anchoring operation without any interference between the thread anchoring member and the empty bobbin.
A prior art thread anchoring method and apparatus of this type have been disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 70137/1977, but in the disclosed method and apparatus, a thread anchoring guide having a substantially U-shaped thread arresting piece is rocked in a horizontal plane and the thread anchoring apparatus itself requires a suction tank, which makes the apparatus bulky. A large space is required in front of the winder for disposing the thread anchoring apparatus and thus, the prior art method and apparatus have the disadvantages that doffing and bobbin exchange operations have to be performed behind the winder. In addition, since the thread anchoring guide employs two substantially U-shaped thread arresting pieces for arresting the thread supplied from the supply source at two points in order to wind the thread about an empty bobbin, the path of the thread to be arrested by the thread anchoring guide and the position of the thread anchoring guide must be very precise, the path of the thread is rigidly limited, and the thread arresting piece adjacent to the body of the bobbin tends to interfere with the body of the bobbin when the thread is wound about the bobbin.